Shore assembly for concrete floor slabs



April 23,v 1964 G. F. BOWDEN ETAL 3,130,950

Y FOR CONCRETE Original Filed Jan. 24, 1961 5 Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTOR-SGeanae F. Sawosu BY BVIIONERUT'H A'r'm A ril 28, 1964 a. F. BOWDEN ETAL3, 30,95

SHORE ASSEMBLY FOR CONCRETE FLOOR SLABS Original Filed Jan. 24, 1961 3Sheats-$heet 2 b E q; ml" llllllll. A k M.

INVENTORS Gsuecia F. Bowozu Apnl 28, 1964 e. F. BOWDEN ETAL 3,130,950

suoms: ASSEMBLY FOR CONCRETE FLOOR sums 3 Sheets-$heet 3 Original FiledJan. 24, 1961 INVENTORS GEORGE F: BowoEN Bv RONERU'I'H United StatesPatent 7 Claims. (Cl. 248-354) The present invention relates to devicesfor use in concrete construction and has particular reference to a novelshore assembly by means of which the longitudinal and transversepanel-supporting stringers which are associated with a floor slab duringerection of a concrete building are maintained in position preparatoryto and during concrete pouring operations, as well as during concretehardening after pouring operations have been completed.

Shore assemblies which are constructed according to the principles ofthe present invention are designed for use specifically in connectionwith the erection of concrete building structures according to themethod of our copending United States patent application Serial No. 84,574, filed on Janary 24, 1961 and entitled Method of and Apparatus forErecting Building Structures Having Concrete Floor Slabs, the presentpatent application being a division of said copending application.

The advantages of the present shore assembly are manifold, and principalamong them is the fact that the assembly makes provision for smallincremental elevational adjustment of the slab-supporting panels afterthey have been placed in position on the stringers, the adjustment beingpossible either from above or below the panels. Thus, a workman,operating above or below the panels, may effect elongation or shorteningof a given shore assembly to raise or lower, as desired, an end of astringer which is connected to such shore assembly and on which thepanels are supported.

Another advantage of the present shore assembly resides in the tubularconstruction of its component parts and in the use of sections of inserttubing by means of which the over-all length of the shore members may bevaried at will in relatively large increments of adjustment, which atthe same time, positive alignment of the various shore sections isassured so that the tendency to bend under load will be reduced to aminimum. This provision for effecting a coarse adjustment of the shoreassembly for height is entirely independent of the pro-. vision foreffecting a fine or infinite adjustment as mentioned above.

The shore assembly of the present invention has associated therewith anovel shore-to-stringer connection in the form of a bracket which iscapable of effectively supporting one end of a stringer or the adjacentends of a pair of aligned stringers, and not only assures end registerand alignment of the two adjacent ends of the stringers but also holdsthe stringers squarely in position on the upper end of the shoreassembly and prevents both lateral displacement and tilting movements ofthe stringers. This shore-to-stringer supporting bracket also is sodesired that, after the stringers are in place thereon and the panelsoperatively positioned on the stringers, no interference is offered bythe bracket to adjustment of the shore members for height either fromabove or below the panels. The bracket also serves as a protectiveenclosure for a portion of the adjustment mechanism of the shoreassembly.

A still further advantageous feature of the present invention is the useof a special plastic foam filler material which, when introduced intothe interior of the shore assembly, prevents indenting of the sectionswhich cooperate to make up the assembly.

3,130,950 Patented Apr. 28., 1964 A further feature of the present shoreassembly resides in the provision of effective sealing means forpreventing the infiltration of concrete or moisture into the interior ofthe tubular shore body or into the shore-to-stringer bracket duringconcrete pouring operations, thus affording protection to the mechanismheight-adjusting means of the assembly and preventing fouling of thewrenchreceiving torque-applying member which is associated with theadjusting means.

The provision of a shore assembly of the character briefly outlinedabove being among the principal objects of the present invention,numerous other objects and advantages will readily suggest themselves asthe following description ensues.

In the accompanying three sheets of drawings forming a part of thisspecification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention has beenshown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a typical concrete forminstallation involving the formation of a horizontally disposed concretefloor slab and showing a number of the composite shore assemblies of thepresent invention operatively installed therein;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevational view of one of theshore assemblies, illustrating, in the upper regions of the view, ashore bracket which forms a part of the assembly, the bracket beingoperatively applied to the adjacent ends of a pair of stringers;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2 in thedirection indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of theshore assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2 inthe direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 in thedirection indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIG. 2 in thedirection indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 2 in thedirection indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the shore bracket of FIG. 2and an adjacent portion of a stringer, together with a grout sealemployed in connection with the bracket; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary exploded top plan view illustrating the mannerin which the improved shore and a stringer are operatively assembledwith respect to each other.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and in particu lar to FIG. 1,there has been disclosed in this view a typical installation involvingthe supporting surface for a concrete slab (not shown) resulting fromthe pouring of concrete on such surface. The entire installation hasbeen dsignated in its entirety at 10 and involves a series of shoreassemblies 12 embodying the present invention. These shore assemblieswill, for convenience of description, hereinafter be referred to simplyas shores. The shores 12 are vertically disposed in the installation andthe upper ends thereof serve to support a series of longitudinallyextending stringers 14 which, in turn, support the end regions of aseries of transversely disposed form panels 16. The shores 12 may be setup in the usual manner of installation on mud sills (not shown) whichare positioned upon the ground or other supporting foundation surfaceand serve to prelocatethe vertically disposed shores. It will beunderstood that the various shores 12 may be cross-braced in anysuitable manner by struts or the like, such cross-bracing being omittedherein since it forms no part of the present invention.

The installation It is merely illustrative of a typical installation inwhich the shores 12 are arranged in four spaced apart, longitudinallyextending rows and with the panel units 16 having their own longitudinaldirection extending transversely of the installation between theadjacent parallel stringers 14. The panels 16 in theillustrated form areconventional steel ply panel units of the type which is shown anddescribed in copending United States patent application Serial No.854,967, filed on November 23, 1959 by George F. Bowden and entitled TieRod Assembly for Concrete Form Panels, now Patent No. 2,997,769 and noclaim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same. Theparticular panel units are in the form of shallow rectangular box-likestructures of tray-like design. Each unit includes a plywood facing 18which is bounded by marginal steel frame members including elongatedside members 20 and end members 22. Steel ply panel units of thisgeneral character are made up in standard sizes, specifically in three,four, six and eight-foot lengths, and in one, one and one-half, two,four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty andtwenty-four inch widths, any combination of such lengths and widthsbeing available.

For purposes of description herein, both in the specification and claimsappended hereto, and in the interests of clarity, the direction ofextent of the stringers 14 will be considered to be the longitudinaldirection of the slab and of the installation on which it is formed,while the elongated direction of the panels 16, i.e., the direction oftheir length, will be considered as the transverse direction of the slaband its supporting structure. Directions with respect to the slab orsupporting structure therefor will be referred to either as longitudinalor transverse, while directions with respect to the individual panels 16will be referred to in terms of the long and short dimensions,respectively, of the panels.

It will be observed that the supporting surface for the slab is made upof two series of full length panels of equal width, the panels beingarranged in contiguity with their long edges abutting one another. Onthe far side of the installation as viewed in FIG. 1, there is a smallodd dimension which has been made up by the use of a series of thepanels 16 positioned with their long edge regions resting on thestringers 14 and with their short edges in abutment. The odd dimensionselected for illustration herein has for convenience been shown as beingequal to a panel width, but it will be understood that greater or lesserodd dimensions may be made up by the use of wider or narrower panelunits in any of the standard sizes in which the panels are manufactured.If necessary, where fractions of an inch are concerned, pieces of lumbermay be cut and fitted as to size so as to serve in place of theprefabricated panel units.

The basic arrangements of parts thus far described, without regard toany specific form of shoring, of stringers, or of panel units, is moreor less conventional in that in the erection of a building constructioninvolving superimposed slabs, the slab foundation is almost invariablycomprised of contiguously arranged panels supported upon stringers whichare, in turn, supported upon shoring, the general arrangement anddisposition being substantially the same as that illustrated in FIG. 1.It is to be noted, however, that the upper concrete-receiving faces ofthe plywood facings 18 of the various panels 16 lie substantially flushwith the upper edge faces of the stringers 14 so that these upper edgesurfaces of the stringers constitute a limited portion of theslab-supporting surface as a whole. In other words, the ends of thepanels 16 do not rest directly upon the upper edges of the stringers asin conventional installations, but lie flush with these surfaces so thatadjacent ends of the panels are separated from each other by anintervening portion of a stringer 14. The end regions of the variouspanels 16 are supported upon vertically shiftable rails or support bars24 which are movably mounted on the sides of the stringers and may belocked in raised positions so that the panel facings lie flush with theupper edges of the stringers. The support bars 24 are capable of beingreleased or' lowered, in which case the panels are free to be withdrawnfrom the underneath side of the hardened slab, while the stringersremain in their supporting relationship with respect to the portions ofthe slab which they underlie.

Still referring to FIG. 1, at the upper end of each shore 12 is ashore-to-stringer connection in the form of a bracket 30. The latter isa constituent part of the shore assembly. It is hereinafter referred tosimply as the shore bracket and serves to maintain the adjacent ends ofa pair of aligned stringers 14 in supported relationship with respect tothe shore. The nature and specific function of the various shorebrackets 30 will be described in greater detail subsequently, but forthe present, it is deemed sufficient to state that these shore bracketsenable adjustment of the panels for grade by permitting elongation orshortening of the shores 12, either from above the slab-supportingsurface offered by the panels, or from below the same after the panelsare in place. This dual adjustment feature constitutes an importantfeature of the present invention.

The shores or shore assemblies 12 themselves, apart from the shorebrackets 3th, are capable of both a fine and a coarse adjustment forlength. As will be described subsequently in connection with FIGS. 2, 4and 5, each shore is made up of telescopic tubular sections so that itis possible by selecting the proper shore sections to build up a givenshore of approximately the correct length for the proper elevation of ahorizontal panel structure and, after the various shores have been thusset up or erected, the stringers positioned thereon, and the panelsoperatively applied to the stringers, a final shore adjustment may bemade either from above or below the panel level to secure the desiredgrade so that the tops of the shores will have the proper elevation fora horizontal slab structure.

Each shore bracket 30 is adapted to be permanently installed at theupper end of its shore assembly 12 and to remain permanently thereon.Thus, as previously indicated, each shore bracket, in effect,constitutes a functional part of its associated shore assembly andthroughout this specification and in the claims, it will be treated asan element or part thereof. The details of each shore bracket areillustrated in FIGS. 6 to 10, inclusive and the details of the bodyportion of each shore assembly are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5a. In FIG. 3,an entire shore assembly, including both the body portion and thebracket, are illustrated.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, each shore 12 is in the form of acomposite post which is made up of tubular sections of cylindrical tubestock, the shore shown in FIG. 2 being comprised of four such sectionsincluding a lower fixed section 50, a next adjacent fixed section 52, athird fixed section 54 immediately above the section 52, and an upperrotatable section 56. The lower section 50 is provided with a suitablefoot .piece 58 and the upper end of this section is provided with asmall hole 60 (FIG. 4) which is designed for registry with a slot 62 in-a short pilot section 64. The latter is telescopically received withinthe lower end of the section 5-2 and is Welded therein as at 66. Thepilot section 64 is receivable within the upper open end of the shoresection 50 to the extent that the lower rim 68 of the section 52 abutsthe upper rim 70 of the section 50, at which time the hole and the slot62 may be moved into registry and a fast pin 72 passed through the holeand slot in order to lock the two sections together. A similarconnection between the sections 52 and 54 involving a pilot section anda fast pin is provided. From the above description, it will be seen,therefore, that the three sections 50, 52 and 54, when assembled uponone another and secured in position by the fast pins '72, are relativelyfixed. The section 56 is of apron-like design and it is both rotatableand telescopically movable axially relatively to the shore section 54.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the upper end of the shore section 54 isprovided with an end closure plate 80 in the form of a ring having acentral opening 82 therethrough. A vertically disposed elevation screw84 projects through the opening 82. It is threadedly received through anut 86 which is welded as at 88 to the upper face of the plate 80. Theupper end of the shore section 56 is provided with a closure plate 90which is similar to the plate 80 and has a central opening 92 throughwhich the shank portion 9'4 of the elevation screw 84 projects. A nut 96is welded as at 93 to the plate 9% and as at 100 to the elevation screw84 so that, upon turning of the upper section '56, the nut 96, the plate90 and the elevation screw 84, together with the section 56, will turnbodily as a unit, thus feeding the elevation screw through the nut 82 inone direction or the other, depending upon the direction of rotation ofthe section 56, to effect a relatively fine adjustment of the elevationof the section 56. The depending portion of the upper sectionconstitutes an apron which closely hugs the outer cylindrical surface ofthe section 54 and lends reinforcement to the elevation screw 84.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, each of the sections 50, 52 and 54 hasdisposed within, and completely filling the same, a mass of reinforcingmaterial 102 which possesses an appreciable degree of resistance tocompressional force. While various materials are suitable as a fillermaterial for these sections, the material employed is preferably acommercially available cellular material containing occluded air cellsand commonly referred to as Plastic Foam. Various grades of suchmaterial are manufactured and sold by the Glidden Pain-t Company ofCleveland, Ohio under the trade name of Glidfoam, the particular gradeof which employed herein offers an appreciable degree of resistance tocompressional forces, but which, nevertheless, is somewhat resilient.Such a material is widely sold for ice box insulation purposes. It hasbeen described in greater detail and its physical properties set forthin co-pending patent application Serial No. 49,672, filed on August 15,1960 by George F. Bowden and entitled Concrete Wall Form Panel Unit WithReinforcing and Insulating Means, now abandoned. This filler material,when in position within the sections 50, 52 and 54, rigidifies the shoreas a whole and inhibits the tendency of the same to become indented orwarped when bending stresses are applied to the shore. As shown in FIG.5, the filler material is recessed as at 104 to accommodate the fastpins 72 and, as shown in FIG. 3, a relatively deep socket 106 is formedin the material 102 in registry with the opening 82 in the plate 84} toaccommodate reception of the lower end of the threaded portion of theelevation screw 84.

The sleeve-like upper section 56 is provided with a series of spannerholes i108 near the upper end of the section, and they are designed forcooperation with a spanner wrench so that the sleeve-like shore section56 may be turned relatively to the other shore sections. Turning of thesection 56 will effect turning movement of the fixed nut 96 and theelevation screw 84 as a whole to vary the elevation of the section 56with respect to the section 54 and thus elongate or shorten the over-allextent of the shore 12. The upper end of the elevation screw 94 issquared as at 110 to accommodate reception thereover of a torque Wrench.The spanner holes 168 make it possible for the height of the shore to beadjusted from beneath the positioned panels 16 while the wrenchreceivingsquared portion 110 of the elevation screw permits of such adjustmentfrom above the panels 16.

The shore bracket 30 of the shore assembly 12 has been illustrated indetail in FIGS. 9 and and it is shown in a selected environment in FIGS.3 to 7, inclusive. Referring now to these views in detail, the shorebracket 30 involves in its general organization an open- 6 endedtubular'body member 120, the lower open end of which is seated withinthe confines of a short piece 122 of channel stock. The tubular bodymember and the channel piece 122 constitute the two principal parts ofthe bracket assembly 30. The sides 124 of the channel piece straddle thelower end of the tubular body member 120 and the medial regions of thesides are pressed inwardly as at 126 and are welded as at 128 to theopposite sides of the tubular body member 120. The lower open-end of thebody member 120 seats squarely on the bottom 130 of the channel piece,and a hole 132 is formed in said bottom 130 in registry with thelongitudinal axis of the tubular body member 120, this hole serving toprovide clearance for the elevation screw 84 when the bracket isassembled at the top of a shore member as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. Thebottom 130 has associated therewith a pair of rivets 135 the headportions of which underlie said bottom and are welded thereto, and theshank portions of which project upwardly through the bottom 130, as bestseen in FIGS.

9 and 10, these upwardly projecting portions of the rivets serving aslocating pins for attachment of a pair of the longitudinally extendingstringers 14. The front and rear sides of the tubular body member 120have welded thereto pairs of small angle pieces 134, with the pieces ofeach pair being arranged in spaced relationship to define therebetween astringer-receiving slot 137.

The tubular body member 120 of the shore bracket 30 is provided with apair of spaced aligned holes 136 (see FIG. 9) on opposite sides thereofto facilitate insertion of a taper pin 138 (see FIG. 3) through theelevation screw 84. The longitudinal extent of the taper pin 138 isgreater than the diameter of the central open ing 92 in the closureplate 90 of the shore section 56 so that, when the taper pin is inposition on the elevation screw 84, the shore bracket 30 is loosely heldto the section 56 against removal. A grout seal 139 in the form of aclosure cap of rubber or other elastomeric material is provided with aspring clip 141 by means of which the seal may be maintained in positionover the upper open-end of the tubular body member 120 of the shorebracket 30 during concrete-pouring operations.

The shore bracket 30 has been designed specifically for use insupporting the adjacent ends of a pair of the aligned stringers 14,these stringers being of special construction and of the type shown anddescribed in our aforementioned copending application Serial No. 84,574.The stringers 14 form no part of the present invention, and in thevarious views of the drawings, only the end regions of the stringerswhich are adjacent to the shore bracket 31) have been disclosed, sincethese end regions suffice to show the manner in which the stringers areoperatively connected to the various shore brackets 30. Reference may behad to such application for a full disclosure of the nature of thestringers 14, but for descriptive purposes herein, it is deemedsuflicient to state that each stringer 14 includes a body portion in theform of an I-beam having upper and lower horizontal flanges and 142,respectively, and an interconnecting vertical web 144. The web 144 isprovided with a series of arcuate slots 146 at spaced regions lengthwiseof the I-beam. On opposite sides of the web 144, in straddlingrelationship with respect to the latter, is a pair of thepreviously-mentioned movable support bars 24. Each support bar is in theform of an angle piece having a horizontal flange 148 and a verticalflange 150. The flange 148 projects outwardly beyond the lateral extentof the I-beam flanges 140 and 142. A series of clamping nut and boltassemblies 152 extends through the web 144 and the vertical flanges 150of the two support bars 24 and serves releasably to clamp the supportbars hard against the sides of the web 144 in either an elevatedpanel-supporting position or in a lowered panel-releasing position.

Near the opposite ends of each stringer 14, the lower horizontal flange142 is provided with a pair of holes 160 (see FIGS. 2 and 10), the holesof each pair being disposed on the opposite sides of the web 144. Theseholes 160 are adapted to receive therein the upwardly extending shankportions of the rivets 135 as shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7 to lock the endsof the stringers in a supported position on the shore bracket 30. Theserivets and holes serve to maintain adjacent ends of adjacent stringers14 in longitudinal alignment as shown in FIGS. and 6. With each end ofthe stringer thus supported upon the bottom 130 of a bracket 30, the web144 of the stringer is confined within the slots 137 between adjacentpairs of angle pieces 134 to stabilize the stringer and prevent angulartilting thereof.

It is to be observed that with a given stringer 14 operatively supportedat its ends on respective shore brackets 30, and with the latteroperatively positioned on the upper ends of respective shores, andfurthermore, with the nut and bolt assemblies 154 disposed within theirrespective slots 146 at the extreme upper ends of the slots as shown inFIG. 3, the upper edges of the various panels 16 will lie flush againstthe top flange 1463 of the stringer. Stated otherwise, with the supportbar 24 in its upper position, the distance between the horizontal flange148 of the support bar 24 and the upper horizontal top flange 140 of thestringer 14 is equal to the over-all thickness of one of the panels 16so that with the panel resting upon the horizontal flange 148, its upperedge surface will lie flush with the upper face of the top flange 140.When the nut and bolt assemblies 154 are disposed in their lowermostpositions within the slots 14, the entire support bar 24 will be loweredbodily to such an extent that its horizontal flange 148 will be spacedbelow the top flange 140 of the stringer 14 an appreciable distance sothat the panels 16 supported upon the flange 148 will be released.

From the above description, it will be seen that the present shoreassembly 12, including the lower sectional body part and the upperbracket part, constitutes a prefabricated and assembled unit which, in afloor slab installation such as has been shown in FIG. 1, enables a pairof stringers such as the stringers 14 to be easily applied to the upperend thereof without requiring the use of tools and which, after thestringers are applied, will permit vertical adjustment thereof eitherfrom above the form panels which are supported by the stringers, or frombelow such panels. To effect the connection be tween the shore assemblyand stringers, it is merely necessary to insert the end edges of the web144- of each stringer between the two angle pieces 134, and then alignthe holes 160 in the lower horizontal flanges 142 of the stringersvertically with the shank portions of the rivets 135, after which theends of the stringers may be lowered so that these shank portions enterthe holes and lock the stringers in place on the shore bracket 30.Thereafter, and as previously set forth, the ends of the stringers maybe adjusted for elevation either from below the panels 16, utilizing aspanner wrench or similar tool in connection with the holes 108 in thesleeve-like upper section 56 of the shore, or from above the panels 16,utilizing a suitable socket wrench in connection with the squared end110 of the elevation screw 84. If the adjustment is made from above thepanels, the seal 139 will, of course, be applied to the upper end of thetubular body 120 before concrete-pouring operations are commenced.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth since these may be modified within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore comprising, in combination, an

elongated post presenting an internally threaded vertical bore at itsupper end, a rotatable elevation screw threadedlyreceived in said boreand capable of axial shifting movement in opposite directions uponturning of the screw in opposite directions respectively, means on saidscrew defining an upwardly facing shoulder, a nonrotatable tubularmember coaxial with said screw, encompassing the same, having its lowerend supported on said shoulder, and having an open upper rim disposedabove the level of the upper end of the screw, and a pair of supportsextending laterally from said tubular member in op posite directions andadapted to receive loosely and removably thereon the adjacent ends of apair of aligned panel-supporting stringers, the upper end of saidelevation screw within the tubular member having a portion which isnoncircular in transverse cross section for cooperation with aconformably shaped torque-applying tool inserted through the open upperrim of the tubular member, and a tubular apron having its upper endfixedly secured to the elevation screw and telescopically received overthe upper end of the post, said tubular apron constituting atorque-applying element whereby the elevation screw may be rotated inopposite directions either by manual turning of said apron from belowthe stringers, or by use of the tool from above the stringers.

2. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said elevation screw isprovided with a shank portion which projects upwardly through thenonrotatable tubular member to a region closely adjacent to the upperrim of such member and above the level of said supports.

3. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore as set forth in claim 2 and including, additionally, a closure capremovably fitting within the open upper rim of the tubular member.

4. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore comprising, in combination, an upstanding elongated tubular postprovided with screw threads at its upper end, an upstanding rotatableelevation member disposed above and in axial alignment with the tubularpost, having screw threads mating with the screw threads on said tubularpost, and capable of axial shifting in opposite directions upon turningof it in opposite directions with respect to the post, means on saidelevation member defining an upwardly facing shoulder, said elevationmember being provided with an elongated upward rod-like extension, anonrotatable tubular member coaxial with said extension, encompassingthe same, having its lower end supported on said shoulder, and having anopen upper rim disposed above the level of the upper end of theextension, and a pair of supports extending laterally from said tubularmember at the lower end thereof in opposite directions and adapted toreceive loosely and removably thereon the adjacent ends of a pair ofaligned horizontal panel-supporting stringers, the upper end of saidextension being disposed within the tubular member and having a portionwhich is noncircular in transverse cross section for cooperation with aconformably shaped torque-applying tool inserted through the open upperrim of the tubular member, said elevation member being provided with anapron portion surrounding the tubular post and depending below the levelof the mating screw threads, said apron portion constituting atorque-applying element whereby the elevation member may be rotated inopposite directions either by manual turning of the apron portion or byuse of the tool from above the stringers.

5. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore as set forth in claim 4 and including, additionally, a closure capremovably fitting within the open upper rim of the tubular member.

6. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore comprising, in combination, an upstanding elongated tubular post,provided with screw threads at its upper end, an upstanding rotatableelevation member, disposed above and in axial alignment with the tubularpost, having screw threads mating with the screw threads on said tubularpost and capable of axial shifting in opposite directions upon turningof it in opposite directions with respect to the post, means on saidelevation member defining an upwardly facing shoulder, said elevationmember being provided with an elongated upward rod-like extension, achannel piece including a bottom web portion loosely supported on saidshoulder and through which said extension projects, and upstanding sideportions, said channel piece overhanging the opposite sides of saidelevation member to thus provide a pair of upwardly opening cradlesupports for the adjacent ends of a pair of aligned horizontalpanel-supporting stringers, a nonrotatable tubular member coaxial withsaid extension, encompassing the same, having its lower end supported onsaid web portion and having an open upper rim disposed slightly abovethe level of the upper end of the extension, the upper end of saidextension being disposed within the tubular member and having a portionwhich is noncircular in transverse cross section for cooperation with aconformably shaped torque-applying tool inserted through the open upperrim of the tubular member, said elevation member being provided With anapron portion surrounding the tubular post and depending below the levelof the mating screw threads, said apron portion constituting atorque-applying element whereby the elevation member may be rotated inopposite directions either by manual turning of the apron portion or bythe use of the tool from above the stringers.

7. As an article of concrete hardware, a stringer and panel-supportingshore as set forth in claim 6 and wherein the medial regions of theupstanding side portions of said channel piece are instruck and weldedto the outer and opposite sides of the tubular member at the lower endregion of the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,352,600 Brackett July 4, 1944 2,984,417 Voorhees May 16, 19612,997,762 Imparato Aug. 29, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 541,737 Great BritainJuly 7, 1941 851,533 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1958

1. AS AN ARTICLE OF CONCRETE HARDWARE, A STRINGER AND PANEL-SUPPORTINGSHORE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED POST PRESENTING ANINTERNALLY THREADED VERTICAL BORE AT ITS UPPER END, A ROTATABLEELEVATION SCREW THREADEDLY RECEIVED IN SAID BORE AND CAPABLE OF AXIALSHIFTING MOVEMENT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS UPON TURNING OF THE SCREW INOPPOSITE DIRECTIONS RESPECTIVELY, MEANS ON SAID SCREW DEFINING ANUPWARDLY FACING SHOULDER, NONROTATABLE TUBULAR MEMBER COAXIAL WITH SAIDSCREW, ENCOMPASSING THE SAME, HAVING ITS LOWER END SUPPORTED ON SAIDSHOULDER, AND HAVING AN OPEN UPPER RIM DISPOSED ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THEUPPER END OF THE SCREW, AND A PAIR OF SUPPORTS EXTENDING LATERALLY FROMSAID TUBULAR MEMBER IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVELOOSELY AND REMOVABLY THEREON THE ADJACENT ENDS OF A PAIR OF ALIGNEDPANEL-SUPPORTING STRINGERS, THE UPPER END OF SAID ELEVATION SCREW WITHINTHE TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A PORTION WHICH IS NONCIRCULAR IN TRANSVERSECROSS SECTION FOR COOPERATION WITH A CONFORMABLY SHAPED TORQUE-APPLYINGTOOL INSERTED THROUGH THE OPEN UPPER RIM OF THE TUBULAR MEMBER, AND ATUBULAR APRON HAVING ITS UPPER END FIXEDLY SECURED TO THE ELEVATIONSCREW AND TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVED OVER THE UPPER END OF THE POST, SAIDTUBULAR APRON CONSTITUTING A TORQUE-APPLYING ELEMENT WHEREBY THEELEVATION SCREW MAY BE ROTATED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS EITHER BY MANUALTURNING OF SAID APRON FROM BELOW THE STRINGERS, OR BY USE OF THE TOOLFROM ABOVE THE STRINGERS.